Huawei-CATL battery swap partnership targets first model in 2027

The first vehicle under the new Huawei-CATL battery swap partnership will arrive in 2027, according to a report by Cailian published Tuesday. The model will come from Epicland, a brand jointly developed by Dongfeng and Huawei. Cailian did not identify the model itself.

The report fills a gap. A day earlier, on October 19, Huawei's intelligent automotive unit Yinwang — also called Newcool — signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with CATL (HKEX: 3750) and its battery swap operator. That agreement named no models and no service launch date. The 2027 target is a media report, not a confirmed company timeline.

What does the partnership actually cover?

Newcool formally joined CATL's Choco swap ecosystem under the October 19 agreement. It will work with strategic partners to make vehicles built on Huawei Qiankun intelligent automotive solutions compatible with the Choco swap network and connect them to it.

The deal includes a third party: Contemporary Amperex Energy Service Technology (CAES), CATL's battery swap operator. The three parties plan to link vehicle, battery swap station and cloud systems, using real-time battery status and users' travel patterns to anticipate energy needs and proactively arrange swaps.

The stated roadmap goes further. Vehicles would autonomously locate a station, enter it, align themselves, and drive away after a fully automated battery swap completed in 99 seconds. That figure comes from the earlier cooperation statement, not from a demonstrated production system. Treat it as an engineering target until a live station proves it.

Why Epicland?

Epicland sits inside Huawei's Qiankun partnership structure with domestic automakers. It is not part of HIMA, the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance business that Huawei leads directly. That distinction matters for anyone tracking which Huawei-adjacent brands carry which obligations and technology stacks.

The brand is young. Epicland launched its first model, the X9, on September 24 and started nationwide deliveries at Huawei's Songshan Lake campus on October 18. The X9 is a large three-row, six-seat extended-range electric SUV with Huawei Qiankun ADS 5 driver assistance fitted as standard across the lineup, plus the HarmonySpace 6 cockpit.

Note what the report does not say. Cailian did not identify the X9 as the 2027 battery swap model. The swap-capable vehicle could be a future product. Anyone assuming the X9 gains swap capability is reading beyond the sourcing.

What to watch next

Watch three things. First, whether Huawei, CATL or CAES confirms the 2027 date on the record, converting a media report into a program commitment. Second, whether any Epicland model gains Choco swap compatibility before then, which would signal the timeline is conservative. Third, the count of Choco-compatible stations and vehicles at end-2025, the only real test of whether a 99-second automated swap network is scaling or staying on paper.